Aston Martin Sedan/Lagonda Spy Photos: It Better Be Called a Lagonda

Aston Martin is testing a new sleek, angular four-door.

What It Is: A true Aston Martin flagship luxury sedan styled in the vein of the eccentric, angular Lagonda four-door that ceased production back in 1990. While this slab-sided sedan is clearly taller, longer, and more formal than anything Aston has built since the Lagonda, there is plenty to connect it to Aston’s current family of products: a long, sculpted hood with heat extractors, fender vents, pop-out door handles, and Aston Martin brake calipers. Oh yeah, and the license plates are registered to Aston, for what it’s worth.

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Underneath the Victor Vasarely–style camo, all of this car’s body panels appears to be real and are likely all carbon fiber, although the graphics (basically everything in black) are all placeholders. The front end is blunt and shark-nosed, while the bumperless Kammback rear end and formal C-pillar have a slightly retro feel to them. Yet this sleek, slab-sided sedan’s proportions and cab-rearward stance are clearly of the moment. The windows will obviously be replaced by glass, while the long rear door promises near-limousine-like rear legroom; the rear side windows likely will require two panes if they are to roll down very far.

Where’s the traditional Aston Martin winged grille? Remember that the last Aston Martin Lagonda didn’t have one either, nor does today’s Rapide S, really. That said, the front end seems ready for a winged grille, although maybe it will stay on its own path. We do love that it seems to sport some sort of redux of the rad six-headlamp treatment from the 1989–1990 Lagonda Series IV.

KGP PHOTOGRAPHY, BRENDA PRIDDY AND CO., MARC URBANO

Why It Matters: If the model is indeed added to the lineup, it could give Gaydon a viable super-luxe competitor to more upright and formal four-doors like the Rolls Royce Ghost Series II and Bentley Flying Spur. This could also give Aston something to offer wealthy Chinese customers, who prefer to be driven, of course, and may find the confines of the Rapide S to be too tight.

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There is a chance, however, as Car seems to believe, that this could be an ultra-rare, commissioned model built by Aston’s clandestine Q division for but a handful of wealthy patrons, along the lines of the CC100 Speedster.

Platform: Obviously, we can’t tell what’s underneath the car’s skin. It’s possible that the car utilizes a large-print version of Aston Martin’s recently announced platform architecture. But given that the architecture is called out as being for sports cars, and also how far along this model seems to be, it’s likely built on the VH bones of Aston’s Rapide sedan.

KGP PHOTOGRAPHY, BRENDA PRIDDY AND CO., MARC URBANO

Powertrain: Our sources say that this car is powered by Aston’s 5.9-liter V-12—as suitable an engine for a flagship as anything, we suppose—although there is a good chance that a production model could be motivated by one of AMG’s sledgehammer turbocharged V-8s or V12s, thanks to a recent inked technology and engine partnership between Daimler and Aston Martin. Whatever’s under the hood, don’t expect this thing to show up to the party making anything less than 600 hp.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Some sources say the veil will come off of this car by the end of the year. If it’s a production car, prices could fall anywhere from $250K to $500K. If, however, it’s a Q-built ship built in a single-digit run, we’re probably talking about seven figures.